ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Derek Anderson scored 23 points as the San
Antonio Spurs grabbed the best record in the NBA with a 115-101
triumph over the Atlanta Hawks.

San Antonio improved to 49-20, moving a half-game ahead of idle
Philadelphia for the league's top record.

"We're just concentrating and focusing on the things we need
to," Anderson said. "We take everyone seriously. We know we
can't have a mishap."

David Robinson just missed a triple-double with 19 points, 10
rebounds and eight blocks. Tim Duncan added 18 points and 10
boards for the Spurs, who have won 12 of their last 13 games.

Two free throws by rookie DerMarr Johnson pulled Atlanta within
46-42 with 5:40 left in the first half. But the Spurs ran off
seven straight points and took a 53-42 lead on a basket by
Robinson with 4:25 to go.

A 3-pointer by Terry Porter midway through the third quarter
gave San Antonio its largest cushion at 81-58. Rookie Hanno
Mottola's bucket sliced the margin to 93-78 heading into the
final period, but Atlanta never got the deficit below double
digits the rest of the way.

San Antonio took advantage of repeated double-teaming on
Robinson and Duncan by connecting on 11-of-14 3-pointers.
Anderson was 5-of-6 from beyond the arc and Porter was 3-of-3.

"We haven't had a group like this, this is a great shooting
group," Robinson said. "This core of shooters might be the best
we've had here."

Porter had 14 points and Avery Johnson added 11 off the bench.
The Spurs also held a 39-31 rebounding edge.

"You've got to pick your poison," San Antonio coach Gregg
Popovich said. "They double-teamed Timmy pretty aggressively.
He was passing it out. We were fortunate to knock them down."

Jason Terry scored 32 points for Atlanta, which was coming off
Monday's emotional 108-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Cal Bowdler added 15 points and six rebounds for the Hawks, who
fell for the 12th time in 15 games.

"We feel bad to go out there, put it on the Lakers and not have
the same intensity for San Antonio," Terry said. "That was a
letdown. Emotionally, we just didn't come out and match their
intensity."

Johnson and Dion Glover combined for 25 points on 10-of-13
shooting. The Hawks shot 45 percent (38-of-84) and fell to the
Spurs for the fifth straight time.

"We got beat by a very good club," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger
said. "It was a game that was just out of reach for most of the
night. San Antonio had control over it from start to finish."

The Hawks played without Lorenzen Wright, who sat out after
re-injuring his thumb in practice.